Oil is on pace for its best year since 2016 as global tensions and dwindling US inventories lift prices

Oil is on pace for its best year since 2016 as global tensions and dwindling US inventories lift prices

Oil is set to close 2019 with its biggest yearly gain since 2016, according to data first reported by Bloomberg.

WTI crude is up nearly 36% year-to-date, driven by geopolitical risk factors and shrinking US inventories.

American crude inventories fell to their lowest level in two months in the week ended December 20, lifting prices by cutting supply.

Iran seized an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and the US initiated air strikes on five Iranian-backed bases in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, according to Bloomberg. The events could prompt new tensions between the two nations and push oil's price even higher.

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Oil is set to close out 2019 with a massive price jump, lifted by geopolitical risk factors and waning US inventories.

WTI crude oil is up nearly 36% year-to-date, on track for its best 12-month performance since 2016, according to data first reported by Bloomberg.

American crude inventories fell to their lowest level in two months after shedding 5.47 million barrels in the week ended December 20, according to a Friday release from the Energy Information Administration. The dwindling supply helped prop up the high prices established by news of a "phase-one" US-China trade deal and